Nevada public lands locked from mining—permanently, unless Congress acts

What it does

This bill permanently removes approximately 309,272 acres of National Forest land in Nevada's Ruby Mountains and 39,926 acres of Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge from mineral leasing—meaning no new oil, gas, or mining operations can be permitted on these lands. The bill protects existing rights (leases already granted before passage remain valid) and allows the Fish and Wildlife Service to continue refuge management activities.

Why we flagged it

The bill's sole operative mechanism is a withdrawal of federal land from mineral leasing—a straightforward conservation action that protects public resources from future extractive development while respecting existing rights.

What the text implies

• Withdrawal is permanent absent future legislative action, creating a durable conservation baseline that cannot be reversed by administrative action alone.
• The 'valid existing rights' carve-out means leases or claims granted before enactment remain enforceable, potentially allowing some extraction to continue on grandfathered operations.
• Refuge management exception preserves Fish and Wildlife Service authority to conduct habitat restoration, invasive species removal, and other non-commercial activities that may involve ground disturbance.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Ordinary citizens gain long-term protection of public lands from extractive development, preserving ecosystem services, water quality, wildlife habitat, and recreational access in perpetuity. The restriction applies only to future mineral leasing on federal land—a public resource—not to private property or existing valid leases, making this a straightforward conservation measure with no offsetting cost to the public.

Named in the bill

Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, Ruby Mountains subdistrict, Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Elko County, Nevada, White Pine County, Nevada

Where it stands

1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.

• Apr 8, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Apr 8, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources”
• Feb 12, 2026 — Hearing held · Congress.gov: “Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

2 lobbying clients named this bill on 3 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Mar 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $146,409 in lobbying spend. A filing names 27 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 41% of bills with at least one filing.

Catherine Cortez Masto, the sponsor, reported $298,634 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Trout Unlimited — $120,000 on 1 filing
• Backcountry Hunters & Anglers — $26,409 on 2 filings

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.